Present medical science and technology have not yet quite perfected retina implants which to date provide limited restoration of sight for a limited number of the sightless and visually impaired, due to various eye diseases, despite all the good intentions in the world, altruism, philanthropy etc. But now with VT alternative vision, traceable to viper-like-vision back hundreds of millions of years of evolution,6 the most recent discoveries and background development enrich the understanding and credibility of VT. Why now and not before? Potentially producing millions of new viewers of TV “eye candy” and advertisements and a lucrative commercial market of consumers, advertisers and investors with foresight can produce vision for the sightless. The effective expansion of TV for millions of new viewers is estimated to worth about $5,000 per cable TV home so even at Intel prices of billion dollars per acre, the VT ballpark price of $768/64×48 mm should be affordable to all in need. 6 
The VT capitalizes on the billions of dollars7 spent in developing its sensors and active matrix thin film transistors (AM-TFT) for the LCD but without the liquid crystal here. In a word VT electronics simply reverses thermal vision and Omnispectravision 3 IR bands transformed to visible RGB. VT, with or without color or 3D will be a very helpful, but inexpensive product to produce vision of invisible observables. It could be the immediate interim device until the implant nanotechnology surgeries are perfected. 7SID, standord resourses,
Color VT theory is byproduct of Research & Development (R&D) of The Total Image Process©8 far beyond original academic quest for color closure resulting in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,489,997 6,124,893 5,832,140 5,803,082 5,537,483 5,019,807 4,418,359 4,361,785 4,343,020 4,338,627 4,304,491. © The Total Image Process is copyright and service mark of John J. Stapleton, Pte. and title of PhD8Total Image Process Process is copyright, service mark of John J. Stapleton, title of PhD R&D
VT is fortuitous outgrowth of Newton & Nathans (JHU) Quantum Visual Vibrations9 and The Total Image Process PhD Research (SUNJ). Vision thermalization for the sightless relies on natural energy-efficient coupling by biophysics resonance and mature video technology. VT invention does not claim, presume, purport or promise “sight for the blind,” but proposes to restore the innate thermal vision via forehead and analogous, inscrutable pathways of Braille touch signals thru the visual cortex. 9nathans
Resulting from quest for comprehensive color closure of extra-spectral magenta beyond the rainbow, in order to optimize vision of invisible observables for medical and military displays, as first demonstrated with 3 infrared wavelengths within the 3-5 micron band, around the 4.2 micron (2381 cm^−1) absorption of carbon dioxide, the vision thermalization design approach again mimics nature or restores the innate viper-like-vision from which human vision evolved hundreds of millions of years ago.
VT perturbs the error signaling in the thermoreceptors feedback control system to cool or warm forehead cells.
That new IR hue clue “from the pits” of vipers became a more powerful discriminant of blackbody radiations than color temperatures via remote IR resonance through supposedly “opaque” atmosphere10 with the carbon dioxide quantum vibrations at 4.2 microns from missile threats contrasting them from natural clutter and noise, not substantially far from the 3.5 and 7-11 micron amino acids absorptions11 of VT signalization for visualization via biophysics resonance. 10RCA EO Handbook, Lowtran program11aa abs
Restoring the innate viper-like vision in the sightless seemed less daunting because vision is in the mind whereas sight is in the eye, easily mimicked by a TV camera whose signals had been transformed to various alternative means of stimulation for crude verisimilitude of sight signals. VT was never intended to be “disruptive” to the retina implant research and others medical marvels in development. Obviously VT profits may become disruptive to the status quo and marketplace of white canes, seeing-eye-dogs, audio descriptors of TV, and Braille, whose tactile signals have reportedly been traced through the visual cortex. So should VT IR radiation and conduction signals, responsive to pen-size 3D binocular color TV cameras on both sides of eye-glass frames powered by solar cells in place of usual lenses.
While not itself patentable, the recent discovery of biophysics resonance, is the enabling principle of viper-like-vision thermalization (VT) of 3D binocular color TV camera signals for the sightless, which seems analogous to the findings reported by Dr. J. Nathans, MD, PhD, (ScAm 1989) now at John Hopkins University. As previously discovered and reported (J J Stapleton “The Action of Light” SID NYC), the photon transit times to the depth of hue within the retina, are equal to, and thus in resonance with Nathans' measured periods of the quantum oscillations of certain amino acids comprising the pigment proteins. Together this forms the radical (root) basis for proposing vision for the sightless.
Specifically different from the color ratio processing of infrared (IR) and visible images by the pit-vipers (ScAm c. 1980) dual sensor pairs, VT exploits the same sensibility of 10 parts per million (<0.003K/300K) of the dual (cold/warm) thermoreceptors in the human forehead skin described below. They can be made to mimic the photopic/scotopic ratiometric retinal responses of human color vision by exploiting IR quantum vibrations/rotations of specific amino acids responding in biophysics resonance with a heat “display,” instead of light, from a conformable, bandaid-size active matrix of thin film transistors (AM-TFT), already perfected by billions of dollars invested in LCD liquid crystal displays and solid state imagers (CCD & CMOS).
The eye-brain physiology and the nervous system12 forms human nature's own “information technology” and innate telecommunications13 that convey command and control information from one part of the body to another A break through clue came from reports that the tactile signals from Braille were traced through the visual cortex14, as fast as 400 words/minute15 which is above average reading rates for the sighted. While an amount of versatility in energy-efficient resonance has been provided by U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,361,785, 6,489,997, 6,124,893, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein, it is desirable to exploit biophysics resonance of infrared quantum vibrations/rotations of certain inhibitor and excitor amino acids communicating the thermoregulator homeostasis16 error signals and control feedback analogous to normal retina transducers but with the infrared radiation frequencies and heat conduction produced by the VT AM-TFT rather than by visible light. 12CNS Nobel Prize13Prof. Daut classes Rutgers SUNJ14NYTimes Braille signal15400 wpm16homeostasis
In the past, there have been other helpful devices to assist the blind such as the white walking cane, seeing eye dogs, and numerous others, including audio and coarse thermal stimuli on the back of the blind, and recently audio descriptors of TV pictures. The latter has peaked commercial interest beyond the altruism of 4 solicitors seeking sight for the blind.
While the present invention is not directed towards improving video components per se, it is ironic that the fault-tolerant totem pole pair AM-TFT taught in U.S. Pat. No. 5,019,807 to enable the flexible large screen “Windowshade TV”17 to roll up out of sight can now empower the out of sight (sightless) people to “see” TV and normal visible objects heretofore unobservable or illegible through a conformable, bandaid size IR “display” in resonance with the forehead cells IR quantum vibrations. This is being accomplished in three stages, first in monochrome, then with color vision associated with taste of color foods and with 3D binocular stereo vision generated by pen-size video cameras (CMOS/CCD) along the sides of sunglasses where the lenses are replaced with solar cells to power the sensor, display, processor and optional laser to range-gate and photogate depth perception even in the dark. 17TV Digest Sep. 13, 1983
In this last regard, sensing range or distance better than with the white cane or seeing eye door distance seems critical for success, whereas “color” may turn out to be an expendable luxury even though the viper vision is two color (visible and IR). Low light, night (light or thermal) vision devices developed for military operations have been provided for a fraction of the visually impaired such as by ITT Night Vision.
As to the first objective of vision for the sightless, once produced properly, it allows the second color objective and third 3D binocular stereo vision to be met. The revolutionary idea is actually a reverse evolution from viper vision to human vision. The optimum quality of resolution potentially higher then the initial, commonplace VGA 640×480 is desirable but there is limited data and conflicting data (<1 line/mm to 70 lines/mm) on the thermoregulators just noticeable thermal gradient resolution (jndT/dx) which this invention will determine to optimize the design features.
Fortunately for useful depth perception, dynamic range, field sequential color temperatures, and for acceptable blackbody radiation levels, the CMOS/CCD sensors and AM-TFT “display” perfected by billions of dollars invested in them, are compatible with significantly higher refresh rates than standard TV 30 frames/second so as to exploit diffusion dynamics and diffusivity less than 8 nearest neighbors in one second.